Learning
by LovelyToMeetYou
Summary: Gilbert wasn't the only one who changed, that's for sure. He was calmer, more controlled and dare he say, more mature. It was all because of Matthew, the shy Canadian who was also learning to find his own strength. PruCan.


_**Title:**__ Learning  
><em>_**Rating:**__ T for Gilbert's vocabulary.  
><em>_**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**__ PruCan, Gilbert centered.  
><em>_**Summary:**__ Gilbert wasn't the only one who changed, that's for sure. He was calmer, more controlled and dare he say, more mature. It was all because of Matthew, the shy Canadian who was also learning to find his own strength. PruCan.  
><em>_**Author's Note:**__ Kind of a prequel/side story to my Amasia High AU – Turn of the World.  
><em>_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own this series in any way._

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><p>He had changed. That was no longer a hypothesis. It was a fact. He was calmer, more controlled and dare he say, more mature. He no longer picked meaningless fights or joined meaningless sex and relationships weren't something that disgusted him to the core anymore. He found himself spending less time with his common bad company – but of course he would never stop seeing his two best friends, the happy Spanish Antonio and the flirty Frenchman Francis – and more with the group he once called snobby and boring. Of course, Roderich still was the old snobby guy as always and Elizabeta was still his too enamored girlfriend but things were different now. The prospect of spending time with them no longer hurt him and his act of being cool with it was slowly turning into a reality.<p>

And it was all because of him.

Their story would definitely go wrong from the beginning, one would think, with a self-named the most _awesome delinquent of all time_ and a shy Canadian who was afraid of his own shadow. Gilbert never paid him any attention from the beginning and the boy was more than happy to be out of his way. They would eventually be in the same group sometimes, because of Francis's past crush on Arthur, who would always hang out with Alfred, the obnoxious American who would normally bring his brother along. Antonio would also constantly drag an irate little Italian to the group, but that was another story.

Even though they were in the same group, Gilbert couldn't care less. They rarely talked due to their lack of common subjects: he would rather talk about his awesomeness – but never of his past and feelings – and the Canadian always picked the touchy subjects to talk about. With time, however, Gilbert learned to at least appreciate the boy who was always ready to hear him. His need for attention managed to grow to absurd lengths since his tough childhood and Elizabeta's dumping him, and now all he wanted – and deserved, he reminded himself – was to have eager ears to listen to him, something not so usual, he was sad to report.

But the boy had always been there. There was a time Arthur and Francis decided to distance them selves and Antonio kept following that little pissed off Italian and Alfred wouldn't come. Those had been tough times, Gilbert remembered. The fear of being left alone by his last and most important friends paralyzed him, but he knew how to keep it down and avoid more problems. Counting back, it had only been two weeks of that nightmare, but living it was definitely tougher.

It was in that time he found his pet chick, the sweet and ever loyal Gilbird. The poor animal fell from its tree and had both wings broken and when he saw it the decision was done. He started caring for the bird in that exact minute, but to his terror he knew absolutely nothing on how to care for a bird. He couldn't risk going for the school's nurse office, his fame would probably point him as guilty for the bird's unluckiness. At that time, Gilbert started to really freak out. There was no one else to go, no one would hear him nor believe him and now there was a being that depended solely on him. And not for the first time, but definitely the most important one, he regretted all of his bad decisions. Before he could take a rushed decision, however, a soft voice asked him.

"D- Do you need any help? I- I think I can help you with the bird. N- Not that I know of birds, I only ever took care of Kumajiro, who is a bear, b- but…"

Gilbert could have thanked him by a mere nod or another indifferent look as always, but at that moment, all of his cool façade was broken and he showed the shy boy one of his brightest smiles. Really, if he weren't holding the hurt bird, he would've probably hugged the surprised boy.

That's when everything changed.

Both of them bonded over taking care of the bird and soon enough, they had infinite subjects to talk about and never enough time, it seemed. The boy, Matthew, was by far one of the best people he had ever met: he was kind and soft spoken and never picked an argument. Talking with him was a completely new experience for Gilbert and the albino found out he actually liked to hear more from Matthew than talking about himself. Even after things were okay once again and the group was once again reunited, Gilbert continued to hang out with Matthew – perhaps even more often, for Alfred's great displeasure and France and Arthur's entertainment – enjoying every single minute of it.

To spend more time with the Canadian, Gilbert started to frequent classes once again and had much less contact with all of his past supposed friends. He stopped trying to find comfort in one-night stands, mostly because Matthew's company was more than enough and if he didn't maintain this different life style he wouldn't keep his new job at a local store.

Drinks, sex, smoking… He stopped completely the two latter ones and the first was only reserved for his nights out with his friends or his brother. School was once again pleasurable, although not all of it, but he discovered his likes for Chemistry and History of Europe, especially the country of Prussia, which was, according to him, the only place awesome enough he could've been born in.

The word _awesome_ too was different. He had always used it, ever since he was little, but somewhere along the line it had lost its original meaning and became just a hollow adjective he used only to state a characteristic trait for himself. Now, however, the word was just as especial and he found himself using it with sincerity and much more often – surprisingly, the majority of the times was to define something about or related to Matthew.

Who? That shy boy. That Canadian. Matthew Williams. Matthew. Dude. My awesome sidekick. Second Mr. Awesome. Mattie. Birdie. Cutie. Sweetie. The names Gilbert had ever used to address him, he realized, one by one became more intimate than any one else's. Sure, he played and mocked many people but whenever he called Matthew by any of those names it felt like it meant so much more. Calling the shy Canadian _sweetie _made the albino wish the boy was _his sweetie_.

At first, he thought it was just a silly crush. Just like he had when he was a little kid. Just like it had been with Elizabeta. Yes, just a silly crush. He promised himself he would never fall in love with anyone.

Fool around? Sure. Act like a jerk? All the way. Care? Never. The minute he started to care he would be lost. And that's exactly how he had been with Matthew. The violet-eyed teen always had a way with him. Gilbert couldn't stay mad at those soft eyes and sweet smile and even less act indifferently, like he once had.

The prospect scared him more than anything else and as a response, he did the same thing as always when things started to get serious: run away. But even though he tried very hard to distance himself from Matthew, he found himself yearning for the other boy's company, and no longer in a friend's only way. He noticed, of course, those lingering gazes and blushes the soft-spoken boy often showed and for the first time, he was everything but indifferent. Gilbert felt both the need to be near and also to go as far as possible and the situation lasted for long weeks, filled with self-hating thoughts but he no longer could or _wanted_ to indulge in his past pleasures. All he wanted was to be understood and to be loved. Just for once.

In the end, he fell victim not to carnal pleasures, but to emotions. After he finally confessed his feelings, as well as his fears, he was chocked to discover that Matthew knew everything, only by sheer power of observation. If he could possibly admire the Canadian more, the world would be too small. They started a relationship, secretly at the beginning, but his friends soon found out. Predictably, Alfred was furious but Arthur was incredibly calm and even supported their relationship. "If he didn't, he would be a hypocrite." Gilbert remembered when the Brit was in his punk stage and both Francis and Alfred had been the ones to drag him from it. His best friends also understood and were happy for him. He could always expect Francis and Antonio to be there for him, no matter how fucked up things were.

They were so immensely happy, it was impossible to be less. Gilbert found himself falling for Matthew on a daily basis, if that was even possible, and the Canadian soon became his favorite person in the world (sorry, Ludwig). They were far opposites and perhaps that was the reason their relationship worked so well. After all, who was the dumbass that said opposites never worked out?

Gilbert wasn't the only one who changed, that's for sure. He was calmer, more controlled and dare he say, more mature. It was all because of Matthew, the shy Canadian who was also learning to find his own strength. While Gilbert stopped trying to pick up fights – but he still loved to annoy anyone – and learned to control his temper, Matthew finally began to speak up and be noticed whenever he'd enter in a room. He was slowly letting go of that shyness impediment of his – Gilbert always blamed his fucking brother for giving him that – and showing how smart and observant he actually was.

He was so proud of Matthew. He was so proud of himself. He was so proud of _them_.

They were still young, still had a whole life to live, but somehow he felt like he had finally found the one for him. He was sure they would stay together, through the pain and the mistakes, through the happiness and the success. He had changed, both of them had. And they would continue to keep changing with each other.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>__ I can't believe I haven't yet posted this story of the AU and neither any or PruCan, which is a close favorite with both Spamano and USUK! Well, here it is. This is sort of a prequel/side story to my future AU High School story but it's not necessary to read neither in order to understand the idea. This AU has been written a long time ago and now I am going through a process of rewriting it. Soon enough the main story will be published but sadly there will be long intervals between updates, I am afraid._

_Here is for PruCan in a slightly darker atmosphere. The main story is out already, check it: Turn of the World!_

_Fieldings_


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